Chapter 1286: Astonishing Bet

A spacious room in the underground black market.

“Market Master, this is not good…” an old man rushed over.

“What is it?” The middle-aged man, who was sitting in the main seat and drinking tea, frowned.

He was none other than the Market Master of this underground black market, a peak Leaving Aperture realm expert! The black market was a mix of good and bad, filled with many treasures that no one dared to covet. As the Market Master, he naturally possessed strength beyond the reach of ordinary people.

“It’s like this,” the old man quickly explained, “a challenger named Zhang Xuan just arrived. He fought ten consecutive matches and became a Ten-Crown Champion…”

“What’s the big deal? A Ten-Crown Champion is quite normal, isn’t it?” Picking up the teapot, he poured another cup of hot water, blew on the floating tea leaves, and remained unfazed. Although becoming a Ten-Crown Champion was difficult, the underground black market still produced seven or eight such champions every year. It was nothing special.

“It is normal, but after becoming a Ten-Crown Champion, when he went on to challenge for the Hundred-Crown title… Hong Yang stepped onto the stage!” the old man continued.

“Oh?” The middle-aged man smiled slightly. “No one at the same level can defeat Hong Yang. As long as he makes a move, the opponent is usually killed. Just prepare to deal with the body; you’re well-versed in that. Why are you so flustered?”

“Well… Before, I also thought there would be no problem with Hong Yang stepping up. But… who knew that after just two moves against the opponent, he had already been slapped twice, and the opponent… seemed to be completely unharmed…” Recounting the scene he had just witnessed, the old man seemed somewhat disbelieving.

“Slapped? Could it be that Hong Yang is not his match?” The middle-aged man was startled.

“Yes!” The old man nodded.

“Hong Yang is our cash cow; he’s always been undefeated. Although he has a great reputation, he lacks some flair… This is also good. A single defeat will make him reflect and come back stronger. Just make sure no one dies…” Putting down his teacup, the middle-aged man tapped his finger on the table, pondering for a moment before speaking. Although Hong Yang was formidable, he wasn’t invincible. As long as he wasn't killed on the stage, it was nothing to worry about.

“I know all that, it’s just… this Zhang Xuan’s companion started betting frantically as soon as he arrived! After the ten consecutive victories, he had already increased his bet to eighteen hundred spirit stones. When Hong Yang made his move just now, I thought there was no way he could win, so to recoup the losses, I set a very high payout ratio… Who knew, that fellow put all his spirit stones on it…” The old man looked embarrassed.

“Very high? How high?” The middle-aged man was stunned.

“If Hong Yang really loses… almost all the profits our market has made over the years won't be enough to pay them back…”

“What?!” His body swayed, his teacup dropped to the floor, and the middle-aged man’s vision went black. He nearly collapsed. How high was the payout ratio set?

“Take me to see what’s going on…” Unable to bear it any longer, he abruptly stood up and strode towards the arena. In a life-and-death arena, one or two deaths were nothing, but if he were to lose everything, how could he live? This kind of thing must be stopped!

“I’m going to kill you…” On the stage, after being slapped twice in a row, Hong Yang’s eyes turned red. Although he had guessed the opponent wasn't weak, he never imagined he would be this strong! He had been fighting in the underground black market for nearly ten years and had never suffered such a huge loss! The most crucial thing was… this guy had gained such an advantage, yet he kept wobbling, looking as if he was about to collapse at any moment… Wobbling my ass! I’m the one who should be wobbling, I’m disfigured…

“Seal the Primordial Spirit!” With a roar, his primordial spirit immediately sealed itself, and all the acupuncture points throughout his body tightly closed. The reason he was repeatedly slapped was because the opponent used a Master of Aura’s talent. As long as one didn’t look or think, they could resist and not be enchanted!

He charged again. This time, it wasn't with fists or palms, but close-quarters combat. He was tall and powerfully built, excelling at close combat. Despite being on the verge of exploding with rage after two consecutive slaps, he knew that to kill the opponent and exact his revenge, this was the only path.

Whoosh! He reached his opponent, his elbows and knees striking simultaneously like a storm, making it incredibly difficult to defend against.

“Impressive!” Still looking weak and listless, Zhang Xuan’s body subtly recoiled. It seemed impossible to dodge, yet for some unknown reason, the storm-like attacks immediately became ineffective within his compressed form, failing to land a single hit.

“He saw through my attack trajectory?” Hong Yang’s pupils contracted in disbelief. The opponent’s recoiling movement appeared helpless, but in reality, it perfectly predicted his attack routes, evading every single strike. The movements were awkward, yet the effect was extremely significant.

As he was wondering how to react, he saw Zhang Xuan, still in his hunched posture, unsteadily extend his palm again, aiming another slap at his face.

“Again? I’ve sealed my primordial spirit. How could a Master of Aura injure me so easily now…” He carefully defended, convinced that the opponent had no way to harm him, when a faint voice echoed in his ear.

“Don’t block it, you can’t block it…” The voice was like a lover’s whisper, making his entire body involuntarily go limp, his muscles relaxing in an instant.

“No, it’s a demonic sound…” This state lasted less than a tenth of a second before he instantly grew alert, bit the tip of his tongue again, and was about to resist when he saw the opponent’s palm already before his eyes. With a crisp sound, Hong Yang’s eyes reddened. He spun around once, and the other half of his face swelled up.

“Please believe me, my body really can’t hold out. I can’t fight you anymore… I can’t beat you!” The opponent’s helpless voice echoed in his ear once more.

“Aaaargh!” It would have been better if he hadn't heard it. Upon hearing it, he became even more frantic, his eyes bloodshot. Just as he closed in, he saw another slap coming his way.

Soon… The other side of his face swelled up again, and the opponent’s words continued to ring out: “I’m so tired, I can’t hold on, please stop…”

He charged again.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

“I can’t hold on…” The opponent’s palm seemed to possess a magical power, accurately landing on his face every single time. He tried over a dozen different movement techniques but couldn’t evade a single hit. Most critically, after each slap, the opponent would look utterly pathetic, as if on the verge of fainting…

If you can’t hold on, then just faint already… He clearly looked like he was about to drop at any moment, yet as soon as Hong Yang charged, another slap would come… Could he be any more shameless? Hong Yang was going insane.

It wasn’t just his expression; everyone in the stands was dumbfounded, their faces etched with exasperation. They were all well aware of Hong Yang’s strength: unrivaled at his level, a true Hundred-Crown Champion… They had expected that once he made a move, this arrogant newcomer would immediately be torn into pieces… They never imagined such a result. Every time Hong Yang charged, he was slapped back, and then the opponent would appear to have been drained of all strength, swaying constantly, looking as if he would collapse at any moment… Then, he would charge again, only to be slapped back again, still appearing utterly weak… This cycle repeated.

Their invincible Hong Yang, after being slapped numerous times, had a face so swollen he was unrecognizable. Most critically, this guy, who looked like he could faint at any moment, hadn't taken a single hit and was completely unharmed!

“Were we really fighting him just now?” The scar-faced youth and the others all turned pale, and Qian Xu even pulled his head into his neck like a startled quail. That was Hong Yang… the most invincible being in the entire underground market, being slapped back and forth by him as if he were playing with a chick… How strong was his true power? That's too exaggerated! He dared to provoke someone like that… Fortunately, the person didn't bother with him; otherwise… he would surely have been killed long ago.

“Stop hitting me, I’m really not your match… please stop!” The crisp slaps and helpless cries continued to echo on the arena stage.

Thud! After an unknown period, Hong Yang could no longer endure it. He collapsed to the ground, his vision went black, and he fainted. Even before losing consciousness, he was filled with resentment. In all his years of arena combat, this was the first time he had fought so miserably, so devoid of dignity. Before he fainted, he looked at his opponent and saw that the Ten-Crown Champion, who had been wobbling throughout the match, still looked the same as before, seemingly no different. Always on the verge of collapsing, yet he never fell…

“He won… against Hong Yang?”

“Lost again?”

“That was my savings for a wife…” Many people had placed large bets because Hong Yang was fighting. Now, seeing him lying on the ground, completely unconscious, their faces turned ashen, and they were on the verge of tears. They had lost multiple times before and thought Hong Yang could help them win back their losses. They never dreamed it would turn into a complete disaster, losing everything. If only they had known this outcome, they would have bet on Zhang Xuan… Where did this guy with no reputation at all come from? To effortlessly defeat a Hundred-Crown Champion in one go?

“Challenger… Zhang Xuan wins!” After waiting for more than ten breaths, Hong Yang remained motionless. The previous voice sounded again, its tone seemingly filled with disbelief.

“We’re rich! We’re truly rich this time…” Unlike the mourned expressions of the crowd, Zhang Jiuxiao leaped up in excitement upon hearing the definitive news of victory. The odds for this match were one to ten, meaning that if Zhang Xuan won, his bet of 1,800 spirit stones would instantly turn into eighteen thousand. Including his principal, it was already close to twenty thousand! Even as a member of an influential family, he had never seen so many high-grade primeval spirit stones! Before coming to the black market, he didn’t have a single coin on him. In less than an hour, he now had nearly twenty thousand… Master Zhang was practically a walking spirit stone mine, the kind where people just delivered the stones directly without any need for excavation.

“This much should satisfy Master Zhang’s requirements, right…” Knowing he had earned so much, and that it should be enough, Zhang Jiuxiao didn’t delay. He went to the betting counter and handed over his voucher: “I’ve come to collect my winnings! If I’m not mistaken, it’s a total of nineteen thousand eight hundred high-grade primeval spirit stones!”

“Nineteen thousand eight hundred?” Before the person in charge of betting could speak, a cold snort echoed, followed by a middle-aged man who walked over: “You are suspected of cheating. This bet doesn’t count!”